Shahbaz asks India 'to put leash on' Bal Thackeray
12 September, 2012
ISLAMABAD: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Tuesday demanded India to stop Bal Thackeray from giving hate speeches against normalisation of relations between the two countries. National Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce Chairman Khurram Dastgir Khan informed the media that Sharif had held a meeting on Sunday with Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna and asked him to stop Thackeray from giving hate speeches against Pakistan so that the relations between the two nations could be further improved. In response to a question by Krishna regarding Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, Sharif said that many cases had been registered against Saeed, however, he had been acquitted by an independent judiciary, Dastgir said. During the informal discussion on the recently held Pakistan Lifestyle Exhibition at Mumbai, MNA Shireen Arshad Khan informed the members of the committee that even before the inauguration of the exhibition, Thackeray had announced to block it with force. She added that Thackeray occupied the gates of the exhibition hall and did not allow people from the business community to enter the exhibition, once it had opened. Hameedullah Jan Afridi also expressed his concerns over the trade imbalance between Pakistan and India, adding that trade continued to grow in favour of India while Pakistan's exports only witnessed a negligible increase. He stressed upon the Commerce Ministry that there was a need to revisit policies so that lacunas could be removed and exports to India could be enhanced. MNA Qudsia Arshad also expressed her concerns over the growing trade imbalance in favour of India and asked the officials to do what was necessary for boosting local exports. Dastgir also raised his concerns over the trade imbalance and asked the Commerce Ministry officials to look into the trade liberalisation process. End.
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